As a 20 year old I read Maya Angelou’s “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings” and sobbed profusely because her words touched me so deeply. I was a bit of a caged bird in my life desires. At least that is what some led me to believe. I wasn’t supposed to want what I wanted. Safety and security were the objectives my family promoted out of their love for me. This was in direct opposition to the adventures I craved for my life. Maya Angelou’s words affirmed that IF I was a strange bird, it was okay for me not to want to be caged.
Yes I was a sensitive caged bird. I could physically feel people and even today, I still can. Yet it was partially because Maya embraced the many expressions of who she was and where her talents took her that I was able to confirm there was more than one way for a black woman to live her life. Maya’s life may have seemed like an anomaly to some but for me, Maya proved it was possible to perhaps not be understood and still be loved. I learned to be okay with that.
Her legacy includes mentoring. And so I ask as she did, “How are you preparing to be a rainbow for someone else”
Martina says
“How are you preparing to be a rainbow for someone else”……Mmmm…I believe many of us are not just preparing but are doing it unconciously now. We just have not embraced the formal title of “mentor”
Patricia A Patton says
Very true Martina. Maya was a mentor to many and a great example. I secretly always wished I could go to her house and be her friend because she was a friend in my head. Thank you for reading.
Catherine says
That was so beautiful. Thank you for sharing.
Patricia A Patton says
Oh but it is more with you reading and commenting. Thank you for seeing me Catherine.